Triple Toddler Trouble
by Sparky Ace
Summary: Lance, Hunk, and Katie are three of Shiro's four small children, that are up to no good. They go on an adventurous quest to find a toy they desire, but wind up lost and in danger. How are three kids supposed to get out of this? And what danger lurks ahead of them? Please review
1. Chapter 1

Keith is 7

Lance is 6

Hunk is 5

Katie is 1

Chapter 1

It all started one afternoon….

6-year-old Lance pretty much hung out of the basket of the shopping cart. There were so many sights and smells around him. The store was huge, and Lance wanted pretty much anything he could get his little hands on. The rest of the siblings just gazed around. Keith was pretty chill, Hunk drooled over the food, and Katie tried to grab the nearest gadget play with it. Their father Shiro gazed down at them, watching their every move.

"Keith, hey Keith," Lance poked his brother, waiting for him to respond.

"What do you want now?" Keith asked in annoyance.

"Let's go to the toy place," Lance hopped out of the cart.

"Lance, no jumping up and down," Shiro said, while grabbing canned food.

"Eh, I'd rather stay here," Keith crossed his arms and sat down.

"Fine, Hunk and Katie, are you up for it?" Lance asked them.

Katie clapped her hands and smiled at him. Hunk was unsure.

"There would be more food there!" Lance grinned.

Hunk took a second and then nodded. "Okay, I am in."

The store was crowded. Shiro went through the canned food, reading the labels and being totally distracted. Lance and Hunk climbed out of the cart and landed on the floor. It was huge. But of course, Lance knew where the toy part was by heart. They pushed Katie's stroller that was next to the shopping cart and headed off. Keith watched them go, knowing they would get into had no idea his children escaped.

Lance took the lead and allowed Hunk to push Katie. She was clapping her hands and blubbering nonsense. But Hunk was in control and followed Lance. No one seemed to notice the three small rebels making their way through the store. At last, they made it to their destination.

"Wow, look at all the toys," Lance grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement and mischief.

Their was so many toys and the shelves were so big compared to them.

"Lance, you said there'd be food here?" Hunk said, not seeing any food. "There isn't candy in here!"

"There's Candy the Lion! The one from the commercial."

Lance looked on all the golden shelves. "I don't see it. Maybe it's out back?"

"Aww." Hunk whined.

Katie clapped her hands and pointed to the employers only doors. She was babbling nonsense again.

Lance grinned at his little sister. "Good work Katie, let's go," Lance patted one of her bouncy brown pigtails and pushed the stroller.

"Wait, what?" Hunk said as he watched them walk away. "Lance, wait for me, you know I hate being alone!" He hurried after them.

They pushed through the wide doors into a cold room filled with opened boxes of new toys and pink packing peanuts. Lance ducked and ran Katie's stroller behind a shelf when he saw a woman with her hair pulled back.

"Right the Candy the Lion stock just came in, we are loading them inside the building now," the woman said into a walkie talkie.

Katie saw that walkie talkie and wanted it. She reached out her small chubby arms trying to grab it. Lance covered her mouth, waiting for her to be quiet. "Later, we need to stay hidden," he hissed at her. A couple of seconds later the woman put down her walkie talkie and walked away. Lance saw the opportunity to go.

As they went by, Katie grabbed it and started to suck on it. Lance, the responsible older brother, did not notice and kept moving to the truck.

Meanwhile, Hunk opened the surprisingly light doors and walked in. "Lance?" he called out. Nothing. It was just then he saw the truck with boxes printed with Candy the Lion on it. "Aw Candy Lion!" He hurried to the truck, and then saw Lance and Katie climbing inside.

Lance pushed Katie's stroller up the ramp and moved to the back out of sight. Hunk slowly followed inside to catch up to them.

"Lance, we found them, we should tell Shiro," Hunk said enthusiastically.

"All in good time, buddy," Lance said as he opened another box.

Katie was happily drooling all over the walkie talkie while Hunk helped Lance open many boxes, looking for different colors of Candy Lions.

"Oh! I have a yellow one," Hunk grabbed a Candy Lion from a box. He pressed a button and it started singing. "Ooo."

"This was an awesome idea," he laughed. They heard someone coming and quickly hid behind some boxes again. They knew this was risky.

The person was chatting with someone else as they moved some of the boxes. "Oh, that's weird. Some of them are open." he paused. "Eh, not my fault. We'll unpack them at the next stop," he closed the door and locked it, removing the ramp attached to the trunk. "I bet you Earl did it," his muffled voice rang through.

"Lance, why is it dark in here?" Hunk asked, holding his yellow Candy Lion tight. "Lance?"

"I am right here, and I think we are locked in," Lance said confusedly.

"Locked in? Lance this is a big problem," Hunk said, about to cry.

Katie clapped her hands and made a bubbling sound.

"See Katie chilled about it?" Lance smiled at his sister.

"Lance she's only 1…." Hunk said. "I am scared, I want Daddy."

"Shh, just stay quiet." The truck began to make a rumbling sound, and the floor shook. "Oh no, they're taking us somewhere," Hunk wailed.

Katie looked up at him, her eyes big and owlish in the few slivers of light streaming through the cracks in the sides of the truck. She banged on the walkie talkie and it activated. But thanks to the drool, it was pretty muched fried. Nevertheless Katie kept banging it against the walls in a sort of frenzy until her brothers had to confiscate it.

Meanwhile Shiro got back from debating about whether to give Katie mashed peas or mashed apples. It was hard to decide. Maybe he would let her decide. He turned around to see Keith reading his comic book.

"Keith? Where are your siblings?" Shiro asked his oldest son. Keith shrugged and turned the glossy page. "Keith," Shiro said in a warning tone.

"They walked off like idiots," Keith stated casually.

"With Katie?" Shiro asked.

Keith nodded.

"How could you let them go like that and take Katie?" Shiro gritted his teeth.

"She was clapping her hands I think," Keith said. "They're probably at the toy section."

Shiro hurried to find them.

TBC please review


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hunk fell asleep cradling his Candy Lion. Lance stayed awake, but only to keep Katie from rolling around and bonking her head or eating one of the Lions because she read the word 'candy' or 'green' (both words, for some unknown reason, usually caused her to start drooling.) See, he was a responsible big brother! This was a game that seemed to go on for hours in the shadows.

They heard the truck come to a screeching halt, though, and it nearly sent them all flying. Hunk managed to stay asleep. Lance could make out some words and a little scuffling outside, and then felt something bang against the iron wall he was leaning against. He thought they were coming to unload the boxes, and so he cowered down, but nothing else happened.

The truck continued down the road. Lance could hear some laughter and something that sounded like a gunshot at the front of the truck. He wondered what was going on. That all stopped when Katie got ahold of a Candy Lion; she started sucking on it. It was really disgusting, and her drool started pooling. Lance had to let go of her because he didn't want to get that stuff on him. It was at that moment the truck stopped.

The people stepped out onto crunching gravel and opened the doors. Lance peeked out and saw a larger person grabbing boxes. There were a few others behind him. These weren't the same men; one definitely did have a gun. Lance's heart raced and he quickly ducked. Hunk was still snoring away and Katie was too busy drooling on the Lion to make any sound. Hopefully the people would just unpack a few boxes and go away.

"Hurry up, Harry, get that one in the house," one of them said.

"It would go faster if you helped me," the one that was presumably Harry snapped back. "I'm too lazy," laughed the same guy. "C'mon, Ulysses. You can't be lazy if you're going to be a criminal." He shot the others a toothy grin and carried the box inside some unseen building. Lance's eyes widened. Wait, were they joking around? He couldn't exactly tell. Lance had an eye for detail, but he was only six. He glanced over to where Hunk was, on the other side of truck, sucking his thumb like Katie was sucking on her Candy Lion.

The men got closer and closer to their hiding place. Katie stop sucking for a moment and let a small giggle. Lance turned his head pressing his finger against his lips. He was trying to tell her to be quiet. Katie ignored Lance and threw the wet Candy Lion at Harry's face, causing him to act alarmed.

"Ew, that is just gross!" Harry responded. "Why did you throw that?'"

"It was not me, dummy, it came from the back," Ulysses said, moving some more boxes out of the way. Lance's heart froze, hoping something else would catch their attention.

The two people moved the boxes and saw Katie giggling and drooling. The men were confused and reached for Katie, but Lance blocked him, protecting his sister valiantly. "Leave her alone," Lance snarled.

"Looks like we got little party crashers! They're kind of cute," Ulysses said, picking Lance up by the collar. "Make that three," Harry said, looking at Hunk who was still sleeping. Katie clapped her hands.

"Oh, look at you," Harry said, leaning closer to Katie. "I bet these kids snuck onto the truck for ultimate toy access." He laughed.

Lance struggled in Ulysses's grasp. "Put me down, now!"

Ulysses laughed and picked up Hunk as well. "Come on, we need to bring them to the boss, you take Miss Drooler over here." Lance kicked and struggled as he was dangled and brought over to what looked like a hovel of a house. "LET ME GO, VILLAIN! HELP! KIDNAPPER!" he shrieked throughout the neighborhood. Nobody seemed to be outside except an elderly lady who was just now getting her newspaper. She appeared to be deaf.

This certainly wasn't going as expected. At least the men who had apparently hijacked the truck hadn't murdered them. But what were they going to do to them now?

They took him inside the shoddy house. The boss was in the center, watching his men rip open the Candy Lions and stuff money inside them, before patching them right up. He was also barking orders at them.

"Boss, we have some party crashers," Ulysses said as they stopped. Katie was sucking on another Candy Lion she got her tiny hands on. A red-haired woman snatched the toy out of her hands and threw it in a garbage bin. "I hate kids," she muttered. Katie seemed unfazed. "Why do you have these things?" rumbled the boss. He looked displeased with them; he curled his lip at Lance, who did it right back. "We found them snooping on our truck," Harry answered.

"Just what we need, three tattletails," the woman snarled.

"Two actually, Beth, this one is too young to speak," Harry said, looking down at Katie.

The woman narrowed brown eyes at him and then looked at the boss. "We still can't let them go, can we? Unless you were planning on using them for some kinda hostage exchange. Or something worse." She looked pointedly at Lance, and he once again made a menacing facial expression. He had no idea what she was talking about.

Katie clapped her hands and giggled as if she was responding.

"Not a bad idea, I'll leave you in charge Beth," the boss said, looking back to his other men.

Beth smiled. "Take these things into a room and watch them. Tie them up if you can, and I'll be in a little to ask them who their parents are."

"We will never tell you!" Lance yelled, thrashing wildly again. "Let us go or I'll bite you! Or my brother will!" he indicated Hunk, who tried to hide his face. The adults chortled. "Right, kiddo," Harry rolled his eyes. With the help of Ulysses he managed to tie the snapping children to a pipe in a darkened room.

"Let us go!" Lance struggled.

"Oi, what should we do the drooler?" Harry asked.

Katie moved her arms up. Ulysses smiled and picked her up. "She only 1, she can't do no harm."

Lance growled watching them handle his sister. If Dad was here, he would probably destroy these people.

TBC please review


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro sprinted to the toy section, knocking down anyone in his way. Keith followed him, desperately trying to keep up. His dad could run a lot faster than him. When they got to the toy section, they look maned down every aisle and found no traces of Lance, Hunk, or the baby.

"Where are they, where are they," Shiro kept chanting through gritted teeth. At one point Keith hung back a little, convinced his dad was going insane, but Shiro quickly noticed and turned around, forcing his son back into the cart. "I'm not letting you out of my sight either!"

Keith was slightly scared. Shiro wheeled him to the checkout desk. "Hello, ma'am, have you seen two boys pushing around a baby in a stroller?" he asked, near frantic. The gray-haired desk lady raised an eyebrow. "Yes, awhile ago."

"Where did they go?" Shiro asked, leaning in closer to the woman.

The gray-haired woman shrugged. "They were heading to the toy section."

"But I just checked there," Shiro snapped.

"Do your kids often run away from you?" the woman asked. "I wouldn't blame them!"

Keith choked and started laughing. Shiro tensed and gave his oldest son a life-threatening look. "That's no way to talk to a customer," he said to the lady, trying to control his temper. "Yes, my apologies. They're probably somewhere in this mall. Good luck, I can't help you," she dismissed.

Shiro's mouth opened a little, but he firmly closed it. "All right, Keith," he muttered. "Let's go somewhere else. Where else would they be?" he tried to think. "The candy shop?"

They checked the candy shop and dinosaur land. But the three kids were nowhere to be found. They decide to go find security. They got to the security office and Shiro knocked on the door, hoping someone was there. The door opened up. A guy stood there with orange hair and a small mustache,

"Yes can I help you sir!" he asked with a loud, funny voice.

…..

Lance watched the evil man play with his sister. Katie, on the other hand, was enjoying herself, and laughing at him when he made funny faces. Other than watching Katie, Lance worked on the ropes and made progress towards getting himself free. Once he snapped his bindings, Lance pretended to be still tied up waiting for the men to leave. He looked up and saw Katie on the man with the greasy hair's back riding him like a pony. Katie started to rub her eyes and fall asleep. The man quickly caught her before she fell off and placed her back into the stroller with a smile. Lance watched as the left the room,heading down to the halls. Once it was clear, he jumped up and went to Hunk who was watching him. After untying him, he walked over to Katie and checked her out.

"We're getting out of here, come on," Lance said, going to the door. Hunk pushed the stroller after his brother.

"But how will we know which way to go?" Hunk asked, looking from behind the white and green stroller.

"I am not sure, but we need to get out now," Lance opened the door and took the lead.

Hunk was unsure, but it was better than being tied up at the moment. "Okay."

After walking around for ten minutes they finally found the exit, and to their luck it was open and no one was guarding it. Suddenly the boys heard yelling behind them. They froze in place. "Hey, kids, wanna get some ice cream?" a skinny man said, stepping closer to them.

"Really? What kind of ice cream?" Hunk asked, his mouth watering.

"No, and be quiet, you'll wake up my sister," Lance hissed, running over and kicking him in the knee before he grabbed ahold of Hunk.

"OW, you little brat!" the man exclaimed, falling to the ground like a log.

"What do we do now?" Hunk asked, sounding scared.

Lance smiled, forming an idea. "Get into the stroller!"

Hunk climbed into the under part of the basket, following Lance's orders. Lance smiled confidently, pushing the stroller out of the building and then leaping onto it, riding it down the street. Good thing it was downhill, because they picked up speed quickly. The villains tried to chase after them, but it was no good. They managed to dodge everything, all while Katie was still sleeping.

The stroller came to a stop, and it was getting dark outside. They seemed to stop in the quieter part of were less people around as the sun began setting. Lance looked up the way they came and saw no signs of the bad guys. He checked on Katie, who miraculously was still sound asleep.

The kids went into an alleyway, thinking it would be a lot safer. Katie ended up waking up and crying, wanting Shiro. The girl was really throwing a fit now.

"Katie it's okay," Lance rushed to her side. He looked around for the diaper bag. "Are you hungry? Or need to be changed?"

"Like you know how to change a diaper," Hunk scoffed. Lance glowered at him.

Meanwhile…

A tall young woman with streaming white hair walked down the lonely street. She wore a simple dress suit and clutched a large purple handbag in her right hand. She was simply going for a stroll; the moon would be full tonight, and she liked the peace and quiet. The breeze picked up, eliciting a smile on her pretty face.

Her peace was disturbed by the nearby sound of - a baby wailing? That was odd. As she kept walking, the sound only seemed to get louder. "What on earth-?" she stopped right in her tracks. Where was it coming from? It seemed like it was echoing off the brick walls behind the building she was standing next to. That infuriated her. Had someone abandoned an infant in that dirty, secluded alley?

She turned and peeked into the alleyway. There was indeed a baby on the filthy ground throwing a fit, as well as two boys, maybe around 5 or 6 years old, trying to calm it. It looked like they were trying to replace its diaper. But the diapers were everywhere. The woman decided to intervene.

"Come on Katie, please stop crying," Lance begged helplessly, trying to hold her down. This was the worst day ever.

"Forget about crying, tell her to stop moving," Hunk complained.

She watched them for a second. Were they lost or all alone on the streets? Orphans?

"Hush little lion, don't be scared," The woman sang stepping close to them.

Lance leaped up, shielding his family behind him. Hunk started to shake, and Katie kept crying, but seem to calm down with the woman's voice. "Hush little lion, don't be scared, Mommy's gonna buy you a great big den," the woman continued softly, giving the little boy a gentle, reassuring smile.

Katie stopped crying and giggled. She even put her arms up. asking to be held.

"How did you do that?" Lance asked sharply, noticing his sister's reaction.

"I guess I have the magic touch," Allura smiled, and took a step forward, but stopped to see Lance tense up.

"Who are you and what do you want? Lance asked.

"My name is Allura, and I heard your sister crying," Allura explained. "I won't hurt you. What are your names?"

"My name is Blue, and that's my brother Yellow and my sister is Green," Lance said, still not trusting her.

"Oh? Nice to meet you Blue, Green and Yellow," Allura gave a false laugh. "What are you doing here?"

"We just escaped some bad people, and we got lost," Lance replied.

"Yeah, we are far away from our dad," Hunk chirped

"Well! I can help you," Allura said with a bright smile.

On que Katie farted and did a number 2 in her diaper, because it was starting to smell. She giggled as everyone plugged their noses.

"And someone needs a diaper change. Don't worry, that's easy," Allura crouched down and began to work. Hunk and Lance watched as the strange new woman put a fresh diaper on and picked Katie up. "You're so cute!" Katie giggled again in response. Allura looked down at the boys. "Where did you last see your father?"

"MARS," Lance spat. "Lance, she's helping us," Hunk pouted. "Aha! The truth comes out!" Allura grinned. "HUNK!" whined Lance. "Once again," Allura's grin broadened. Lance screwed up his face to look as angry and vicious as possible, while she poked her tongue at him teasingly. _Precious,_ she thought. "Now for real this time, where is your father?"

"At the mall," Hunk articulated. "Oh, that is a ways from here," Allura furrowed her brow. "How long ago was it?"

"A few hours," Hunk sighed lonesomely. "I miss him…"

"I'll bet he's worried," she nodded seriously. "You said you escaped from 'bad guys'?"

"Yeah!"

"How, exactly, did they capture you if you were with your father?"

"Well, we snuck aboard a truck, and then we heard some gunshots-"

" **Gunshots?!** "

"Yeah, like, pow pow, you know? Do you really not know what a gunshot is? That's kinda weir-"

"No, no, I know what a _gunshot_ is! That's horrendous!"

"They had us tied up and they were going to keep us hostage," Hunk said, his brown eyes large with fear.

"But thanks to my clever thinking," Lance puffed out his chest, "I got us all out, because Hunk and Katie were not much help."

"Hey!" Hunk snapped back.

"Ha, so her name is Katie," Allura said.

"Darn it," Lance stomped his foot on the ground.

"Looks like you three have been through a lot today," Allura gazed down. Katie squealed. "She's been having fun," Lance pointed out grumpily. "That's because she's so young." Hunk looked confused. "So are we…"

"Yeah, YOU are, but I'm a big kid!"

Hunk's lower lip trembled. "Alright, that's enough," the woman said sternly, shifting Katie to her other arm. "I have an idea. Why don't you three spend the night with me, and I'll take you to the mall in the morning, okay? I promise, I'm safe," she said, looking specifically at the eldest boy, who looked ready to object anything. "I'll even cook you breakfast."

Hunk's mouth watered at that.

"Fine," Lance said as his stomach growled.

"First, help me pick up these diapers," Allura said, holding Katie who clapped her hands. "Where did you even get these?"

"Our house," Lance responded, grabbing them. "They were in the stroller."

Once Lance and Hunk picked up the diapers, Allura went to put Katie back in her stroller, but the young girl held on tight. She did not want to move. Allura smiled and held her. "Looks like I'll have to carry you." Lance and Hunk snorted.

TBC

Please Review


	4. Chapter 4

Allura unlocked her door and allowed Lance and Hunk to walk in. The apartment was small, but there was a whole plate of cookies on the table. Lance and Hunk looked back at Allura, and she knew what they wanted. At her nod, the kids rushed off to look around the apartment. While they were thus engaged, Allura brought the stroller inside and put Katie on the apple wood floor to crawl around.

Lance and Hunk took their time scouting the apartment. There were two bedrooms, a little bathroom, a living area, and a small kitchen. The house was warm and smelled like cookies. Allura hung her coat up and watched Katie as she crawled towards the cookies. Hunk and Lance came back nodding their heads.

"So you like my place?" Allura asked them with a smile.

"Yeah!" Both Lance and Hunk said at the same time.

"Wonderful! How about a cookie and I'll make some mac and cheese?" Allura said as she gestured to the fresh cookies.

Lance and Hunk nodded and rushed over grabbing a cookie. They ate them very quickly, then reached for another.

"Don't eat too many boys, you're going to spoil your dinner!" Allura said turning around.

"But they are so good," Hunk moaned as a little drool dripped from his mouth.

"Besides our dad lets us eat as many cookies as we want!" Lance said with his mouth full.

"Oh Really?" Allura said rolling her eyes.

Katie made her way to the cookies and tried to reach up. Lance and Hunk were too busy talking to Allura to notice.

"Lance that's not true, " Hunk said. "Dad only lets us have two cookies."

"Hush," Lance replied, as he put his hand over his brother's mouth.

"Ha! So the truth comes out," Allura smiled.

"No, What he means to say is…" Lance started, but was interupted as he turned around.

Katie had reached up to the plate, and it came crashing down on her. Soon she was on the ground covered in cookie. Lance, Hunk, and Allura laughed at her, as she did not mind. She started to suck on a cookie before Lance could grab it from her hand.

"No Katie"

Allura went to the fridge, got some milk, and opened it up. She then found a baby bottle. She poured the cold milk inside and put the cap on. She walked over to Katie, who was trying to get the cookie back from Lance.

"Here Katie. You'll like this better," Allura handed her the milk.

Katie reached up and grabbed the milk. She was happy and satisfied as she began to drink.

"She loves milk!" Lance said "Give her milk and she will be your best friend."

"That's good to know" Allura giggled and began cooking the mac and cheese.

"Gosh, I can live here forever!" Hunk said.

"But we have to go home, Shiro will be worried," Lance said.

Allura smiled as she listened to the kids talk. So his name is Shiro. She thought. That a cool name. I can't help wondering what this guy looks like. Maybe his sons would tell me. Allura get with the program; you don't need another guy. You already had a bad break up. He cheated on you! Ugh. And who knows, this Shiro dude could have lost his kids on purpose. Allura felt a tug on her shirt, and looked down to see Lance.

"What is it?" Allura asked. She put the spoon down and got down to eye level.

"Are we ever going to find our daddy?" Lance asked.

Allura looked up at Hunk, who was watching them with sad eyes. "Yes of course, and I am sure your dad is looking for you too."

"Thanks Allura," Lance hugged her leg tightly.

Later that night, after a good meal, Allura set Lance and Hunk in the guest room-A small bedroom with a double bed and a window. It was pretty empty because it was a guest room.

Katie bunked with Allura. She cried a lot when Allura left, so much that people knocked on Allura's door to ask if she was okay. Once she agreed to let the baby sleep with her, Katie was very happy. She fell asleep quickly, allowing Allura to have some breathing room.

"You guys settling in?" Allura asked as she checked on the boys.

Lance and Hunk were climbing into bed and looked up at her, both nodding her head. "Yes!"

Allura went to turn off the light when… "Allura?" Lance called.

Allura looked down at the boy, and gave him the attention he wanted "What is it?"

"Daddy always reads us a story!" Lance smiled "It helps us sleep."

"Do you have a story you can read us?" Hunk asked, settling down.

Allura through for a moment and then sighed. She had nothing for the kids. She was not a mother or was ready to be a mother. Then an idea pop into her head and she smiled.

"I can tell you a story my father told me," Allura sat on the bed.

"What is about?" Lance asked. "Does it have dragons, and lions or damsels?"

Allura nodded "All those things. Settle down Lance"

Lance hurried to his spot on the bed and settled down. Once both were good, and Katie was still sleeping, she started the story.

"Once apon a time, their where five legendary Warriors!"

 **TBC please review!**

 **AN: Hey guys, I am so happy, and sorry to make you wait. There was so many ways to start this chapter, and I had no idea how! I finally found a way to start it. Special thanks to RavenNighwing42 for helping me out. She has a great story and you all should check her out!**

 **The next chapter (sneak peek info )The children will be playing match maker!**

 **Please review (to let me know what you think) I plan to have the next chapter in a couple of days!**

 **~Sparky**


	5. Chapter 5

Allura turned the glossy page and read the final words of the story. "And they all lived happily ever after." She looked up and saw Lance and Hunk leaning on each other, fast asleep on the wildflower-printed quilts. She closed the book and slowly tucked the two boys in. She heard a pattering sound and glanced out the window; it was raining. She turned off the light, closing the door behind her. She smiled, feeling blessed that she was able to read a story again to children. It had been a while.

She walked back to her own room and saw the baby Katie snuggling with her pink fuzzy blanket. Allura rubbed her honey brown hair gently. Afterwards Allura got into her silk pajamas and laid down with a good book. However, she kept having to go back and reread every sentence - her mind kept wandering. How could a caring father lose his children so easily? These kids did seem very bright for their age. Maybe she would have to adopt them?

"No… no," she muttered to herself. She took another glance out the window, onto the soaking wet grass, and shut her book. She needed to find their dad.

…

Lance woke up first and looked around. His mind quickly recollected last night's events. He sniffed. There was no sign of Allura in the room, but Hunk was drooling on the fluffy pillow next to him. The sun shined brightly through the curtains, spilling light all over the bed. Something popped into his head. He shook Hunk awake, wasting no time.

"Hunk, wake up!" Lance shook him hard.

"No... go away unless there's breakfast," Hunk mumbled grouchily, squeezing his brown eyes shut and laying on his other side.

"No time!" Lance shoved him harder.

Hunk gave up trying to go back to sleep and sat up, rubbing his puppy-dog eyes at his brother. "What do you want?"

"We are going to see Daddy today! We should tell him to marry Allura," Lance giggled.

"So you mean Daddy will like her?" Hunk asked, ignoring his growling tummy.

"Bingo, let's go," Lance jumped off the bed, heading to the door.

"Can we have breakfast first?" Hunk sat there alone. "Fine… wait for me."

Meanwhile, Katie woke up a few minutes before the boys did. She was crawling around the bed, checking out everything (meaning putting a lot of clothing in her mouth.) She managed to get off the bed because a soft pile of Allura's clothes were right there. Katie fell into the pile and laughed as she landed on the soft floor. She went right to the mirror and touched it, shocked by the cool glass surface.

 _Do I really look like that?_ She scrunched her nose.

"You look like a baby bunny when you make that face," Allura's voice floated tiredly from the bed. Katie merely giggled again, turning around at the sound of a friendly tone. Allura gave her a cheeky smile and swiftly got to her feet, scooping the little girl in her arms. "Are you hungry?"

Katie clapped her hands in excitement. "I'll take that as a yes," Allura laughed, and headed towards the kitchen.

Before she reached the door, she was almost knocked over by Lance. She even almost dropped Katie. The young boy looked at her with a huge grin.

"Better put your best clothes on today, today is a good day!"

Before Allura could respond, Lance leaped out of the room, and Katie clapped her tiny hands together once more. Allura was puzzled and wanted to know what his quirky attitude was about. She followed Lance into the kitchen. Maybe she could get some more details while she made breakfast.

Hunk slowly walked in, still rubbing his eyes sleepily. The other boy was seated at the table already. She sat Katie down in a wooden chair, but the little girl started to cry. Allura had no choice but to keep holding her.

"I need to cook breakfast," Allura said, holding Katie close.

Katie shook her head and laid her head down on Allura's chest.

"So do you have any lipstick?" Lance asked innocently.

"Why don't we worry about breakfast first," Allura laughed at the boy's strange antics.

"What's on the menu?" Hunk asked hopefully.

"Why don't we do Captain Crunch and milk for you, young lady," Allura suggested, booping Katie's nose and heading to the cabinet. Lance and Hunk both agreed and waited for Allura to get the bowl, and while Katie ate like a ravenous wolf, she made eggs, toast, and orange juice for the boys.

After a wonderful breakfast, Allura told the boys they could watch TV while she got dressed. Katie would not stop crying until Allura took her with her. Lance and Hunk sat on the couch for a few minutes. Lance looked sideways at his brother, who was staring intently at the screen.

"Well. This show is boring. I'm going to make sure she's pretty enough for Dad!" Lance announced, hopping off the couch.

"Wait Lance, you should not go in there," Hunk stuttered.

Lance ignored Hunk and bounded into Allura's room. He creaked open the door and found Allura tightening the straps of a cheery pink sundress in the mirror. Katie was buried in a white mess of clothes. She kept poking her head out and giggling and then going back under.

"What do you think about this one Katie?" Allura asked.

Katie poked her head out and then clapped her hands, before going back into her hide out.

"You say that about everything," Allura laughed.

Katie leaped up, making the clothes go everywhere. "Good girl," she grinned teasingly and picked up Katie and held her.

Lance was pushing on the door too much, when he fell through. Both Katie and Allura turned around and noticed Lance on the ground. Katie clapped her hands giggling.

"Are you alright?" Allura inquired.

"Sure, and you look nice," Lance gave her a cheesy smile, standing up.

Allura gave him a look. "I think we are ready. Was there nothing good on TV?"

Lance shrugged and took the lead out of the room. "Okay. Are you ready to-"

"No," Hunk shouted. She tipped her head and took a look at the TV. The cooking channel was on. A man in a chef hat was mixing butter and garlic together in a fancy bowl to coat vegetables with. Hunk was extremely invested.

"Five more minutes?" she offered kindly. He nodded vigorously. They waited until the vegetables were thoroughly coated and dumped into a delicious-looking quiche, but Allura ended up getting mesmerized too, and they spent about twenty minutes there as Lance switched between tugging her arm, screaming in the corner, and prancing around in front of the TV waving his arms around trying to get their attention.

Eventually they headed out the door and towards the mall. All Allura and Hunk could talk about was the cooking show while Lance groaned in annoyance. They didn't have a carseat for Katie, so Allura had to hold her in her walked in and headed to the secretary.

…

"Yes. I found them wandering the streets. They said that they..."

Allura was discussing with a man inside the mall office, while the children sat nervously in the chairs. They couldn't wait to see their father again.

"Actually, I met a man yesterday that was searching extensively for these exact children! He had a son with a weird haircut!"

"That's gotta be Keith," Lance nodded with wide blue eyes.

"This is great news," Allura said, seeming relieved. "Do you know where this man is?"

"I believe he already contacted the authorities, but I saw him pass by an hour or two ago. He may still be here. Now, you are three very naughty children," the orange-haired man chided them. They squirmed in their seats. Katie just clapped her hands and giggled. She also tried to pull at his mustache when he bent down.

"YEEOUCH!" he pulled back. Katie had an evilly happy glint in her eyes.

"We'll try to locate him," Allura said while watching the scene with a smile of her own. "If we can't find him within the hour, we'll return to this office and perhaps give the local station a call."

"Have fun," Mr. Coran shouted after them as she gently guided the kids out of the room. "This is going to look great on my record," he mused to himself.

Luckily, there weren't too many people crowding the marble hallways. They ended up having to take three bathroom breaks along their walk due to Lance slipping away to purchase a large soda (which Allura begrudgingly had to pay for.)

Eventually they wandered into a candle shop, where Allura was able to find a sky-blue clock (after getting sidetracked by all the different smells.) "It's nearly been an hour," she fretted. "I believe we should start heading back."

"Why didn't we just use the mall intercom?" Hunk asked.

Allura blinked. "That's… actually a good idea, Hunk."

Hunk beamed at the praise.

They made their way back towards the front when suddenly Lance froze. He saw his daddy and Keith talking to another person, probably asking if they had seen them. Lance turned around and found Allura trying to get a bouquet of flowers out of Katie's hand.

Lance decided to run towards Shiro. Hopefully Allura and Hunk would follow him. He raced through the hall and it was just then that Shiro saw Lance. Both of their eyes lit up.

Allura managed to get the roses away from the little hands. She turned around and noticed Lance was missing from his place next to her. She looked ahead to see him sprinting. "Oh come on," she exclaimed, making her way through the crowd. Hunk followed behind, making sure not to get lost.

"Dad!" Lance jumped into Shiro's arms.

"Lance, why would you-" Allura paused and looked right into Shiro's eyes. They had noticeable bags under them.

"Daddy," Hunk smiled and ran over to hug his leg.

Shiro gave them both a bear hug. "Thank god!" He squeezed them tightly, his voice sounding tearful.

"Where's Katie," Shiro asked, suddenly afraid. He leaned back and gripped his sons' shoulders, a look of near-panic flashing across his sleep-ridden face. Hunk pointed. "Allura has her." Shiro met the woman's gaze again, and gently stood up to take Katie into his arms. He cuddled her gently. "Thank god," he repeated.

They stood in silence for a minute, a few other people watching curiously. Finally he said, "I was about to lose my mind. Where the heck have you been?"

"With me," Allura cleared her throat. "I found them on my way home from work; it was too late to go back to the mall. I promise you, I only gave them a place to rest their heads."

"Yeah, because we just escaped from being kidnapped," Hunk added.

"Kidnapped?" Keith asked, confused.

"Jealous Keith?" Lance crossed his arms.

"No, I'm just surprised you got away," Keith stuck out his tongue.

"Boys, enough. What do you mean kidnapped?" Shiro asked sternly.

Lance told Shiro what happened.

"Let me get this straight, you stole away on a truck, and it got robbed?" Shiro covered his eyes.

"Yeah, they caught us," Lance said and pointed to Katie. "Because of her!"

"Are any of you injured?"

"I have this scab from two weeks ago-"

"No, I meant… never mind. Who were they?"

Both boys were quiet. They seemed clueless.

TBC please review


	6. Chapter 6

**Toddler trouble**

Allura took a deep breath and got out of her car. She gazed up at many floors of the stone brick apartment. She locked her car and headed inside. She memorized his number knowing it by heart. She walked up two flights of stairs and stopped at the end of the hallway. She could hear the sounds of Lance and Keith waiting by the door.

"Is she here yet?" Lance asked on the other side of the door.

"I heard footsteps? Keith said trying to leap up to the peak hole.

Allura giggled listing to the kids wait for her.

"Katie, please stop throwing your food, you love corn" Shiro sighed as another plastic bowl hit the floor.

Allura smirked knowing he was going to need help. She knocked on the door.

"She here! She _here_!" Lance danced around and then reached for the door.

"Lance, you know the rules, only Daddy answers the door" Shiro said picking up of the last corn pieces off the floor.

"Yes Daddy," Lance said.

"Just a minute!" Shiro called standing up and placing the corn on Katie's high chair. He wiped his hands and fixed his hair a little bit and then rushed to the door. Keith and Lance stood there looking at him.

Shiro opens the door and then looked at Allura, who was even more pretty than ever before "Allura" was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

Allura gasped too, she blushed but then saw the kids crowded around Shiro "I have brought some homemade cookies, Lance and Hunk really liked it the first time" She held it out for them to see.

"I wanna see" Lance jumped up and down.

"Me first," Keith said pushing him out of the way.

"Boys, you will get to see it, let Allrua come in, please" Shiro looked at her with a smile.

The boys and Shiro stepped aside allowing her to come in. Allura stepped "wow this is nice and cozy place"

It was a small apartment. A small kitchen and a living room filled with toys and movies. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Welcome, Allura!" Lance said grabbing her arm and pulling her inside.

Katie dumped the corn on her head and then looked over. She clapped her heads.

"What a silly girl you are" Allura touched her nose. The little girl giggled.

"Why don't I show you around," Shiro said.

Allura nodded and went on him.

"This is the kitchen, sometimes we watch things while we eat" Shiro said showing her the small wooden table with chairs around it, and the living was full of toys and movies.

"Yeah… We watch _The Lion Guard_ " Lance said. "It's the best show in the world"

Allura giggled and followed Shiro who lead them to the rooms.

"Lance and Keith share this room together, but it really messy to show."

Allura giggled and looked at the boys

"It's Lance's fault," Keith said.

"Is not?" Lance said.

"Anyway, this is my bedroom and the bathroom" He said as the doors were side by side. "And this is Katie's and Hunk's room. They open it up, to see a crib and baby items on one side, a normal looking bed on the other side filled with pictures of food. Hunk was lying in drooling on the food network magazine.

"Daddy I want to hang up this poster" Hunk said running to him and showing him some fancy cupcakes. "Please Daddy?"

"Yes of course son," Shiro said. "Looks who's here"

Hunk smiled and then hugged Allura "Wanna see all my cook pictures?" he tugged on her arm,

Allura nodded and allowed him to run in. Everyone paused when something loud hit the floor.

" I need to check on her" Shiro said running down the hallway.

Allura listen to Hunk and gazes at the pictures of food. She even listened to Shiro talking to Katie and wondering why she was acting like this. A couple more splats and pauses and giggles. After another few more minutes she and Hunk entered the kitchen. Something was on the floor the pot on the stove where burning. Allura rushed over turning it off. A huge puff of smoke came out. The kids just laughed as Shiro got done picking up the food.

"My food is now burning" Shiro said looking very sad.

Allura smiled at him. "Why don't we go out or order pizza?"

Shiro blinked at her and then nodded "Sounds like a great idea"

"Pizza, pizza" Lance danced around.

"No, I want to go out" Keith stated.

"Yeah, let's go out" Hunk nodded to Keith.

Katie clapped her hands agreeing with her brothers.

"Alright let's go out," Shiro said and picked up Katie from her high chair. She squirmed in his arms trying to get to Allura. "What wrong Katie, you need to get clean up?"

"She wants Allura Daddy" Lance said.

Shiro blinked and then looked at Allura "Sure, gives me a chance to clean up too" Showing his baby food stains on his shirt "Do you mind? And she might need to be change"

Allura nodded and grabbed Katie who clapped her hands.

"Thanks Allura" Shiro said watching them walk to Katie's room.

"Now boys get ready, because we're going out" Shiro said.

The kids rush into their rooms getting ready.

A few minutes Later Shiro, Lance and Keith were waiting for Hunk, Allura and Katie to come out. Hunk came out and closed the door heading to his family.

"They will be out in a moment" Hunk said sitting on the couch." Hunk said.

"Katie not giving her trouble right?" Shiro asked looking at the door.

Hunk shook his head and pulled out a food magazine.

Lance stood up "Daddy, remember where going out to eat" He started to brush off his dress jacket."So you need to behave?"

Shiro blink "That goes for you too Mr."

Lance pulls his hair back and then smirks at Daddy "I always look good and behave."

TBC please review


	7. Chapter 7

The restaurant's aroma smelled of fresh parsley and Xtra Real Cheese. Lance and Keith were fighting over something random. Shiro balanced Katie in his left arm while trying to break up the fight.

"Lance, Keith, _behave,_ " Shiro warned.

"It's not fair!" Lance huffed and pouted.

A waiter came over and looked down at the family, giving them a strange look. "Table for five?"

"Yes, and a high chair please," Shiro added as Katie reached for shiny object.

"Very good sir," the waiter twirled his peppered mustache and led them to a cherry-red booth, where a hand woven basket of garlic bread was waiting for them. Hunk grabbed the whole thing and hid it under the table as everyone was settling down. Shiro buckled Katie in as she clapped her tiny hands. She pointed to the basket, making bubbly sounds.

"Wasn't there a bread basket there?" Lanced asked.

"No," Hunk squinted as he shovelled a whole piece into his mouth.

"HUNK!"

Katie reached for the basket, but Shiro grabbed it from Hunk and placed it on the table. He rolled his eyes, swallowing the bread.

"He got all the good ones," Lance whined and stood up from from the booth, looking in. "These are all too crispy."

"Boys, you will spoil your dinner," Allura chided, rolling her own beautiful eyes.

Shiro caught her look and blushed.

"Oo! Dinner!" Lance exclaimed and furtively looked over the menu. "I bet I can impress you with my reading skills!"

"What reading skills?" Keith laughed.

"Let me know if you boys need help," Shiro said, pointing to the kids menu.

"We could share a pizza," Allura said sweetly.

"Extra mushrooms and cheese?" Shiro pleaded.

"Sounds delightful," Allura blinked.

"SoUndS DeLiGhtFul," Lance mouthed to himself, making a dumb face. Keith elbowed him.

Shiro and Allura looked into each other eyes, not noticing the kids' antics. Katie was attempting to reach for the pizza-slice-themed salt shaker. Lance scooted it close into her reach. She grabbed it and shook it crazily.

"Dad! Katie got the salt" Lance shouted.

Shiro blinked and then snatched it quickly from his daughter's grasp, before she learned how to dump more out. "Katie? How did she get this?"

"No idea," Lance smiled.

"I have an idea," Keith muttered.

"Guys, be polite, there's the waiter," Hunk whispered.

The waiter looked at him with a smile. "May I take your orders?"

"Yes, please," Shiro nodded. "We would like one large pepperoni pizza and one medium mushroom pizza with extra cheese."

"And to drink?" the waiter's smile didn't falter.

"Four waters, and one small milk please."

Lance slammed his fist on the table.

"Four waters," Shiro repeated while glaring at Lance.

"But I want soda," Lance protested quietly.

"The last time you had soda, you nearly…" Shiro stopped himself and shuddered noticeably.

"It could not have been that bad," Allura giggled.

"It was," Keith confirmed.

"Is that all sir?" the waiter asked.

Shiro nodded, smiling back pleasantly, and then turned his attention back to Allura.

"This is nice," Allura said. "Gives me more time with you and the kids."

"It's great to be here with you," Shiro replied.

"Gross, are you gonna kiss-"

"Shut up," Keith growled at Lance. Shiro exhaled and rubbed his temples at his kids for ruining the moment. "If I give you each 25 cents, will you go play in the arcade?"

"YES!" both Keith and Lance shot up at the same time but then exchanged a dirty look. Shiro was so going to ground them later.

Katie bounced up and down, clapping her hands, agreeing with her brothers.

"You're too young, Katie," Allura giggled and tickled her. "So cute."

Shiro looked upon her thoughtfully. She was truly amazing with kids.

"Can we please have the money, daddy?" Lance asked and smiled brightly.

Shiro blushed, and then reached into his wallet to dig the silver coins out. "One for each of you."

"Thanks!" Lance and Keith grabbed the coins and ran off to the arcade. Hunk was too busy watching the pizza man toss the dough. He had a longing look in his eyes.

The waiter came a few moments later, gently setting plastic plates and drinks on the table. "Your pizzas should be ready soon," he informed them and then walked away.

Shiro placed the milk into a bottle and gave it to Katie, who saw it and wanted it. She stretched out her little hands and seemed to wiggle her fingers. Once she had the milk, she drank it happily. Allura looked at Shiro laughing. She had a lovely laugh.

"I'm glad you enjoy spending time with my kids," Shiro said, addressing what she had said earlier. "I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't agree to have dinner with four noisy children that weren't their own."

"It shows that you care about your kids, other than dumping them with some random sitter," Allura said slowly. "Besides, they're great kids. Very… er… well behaved?"

They blinked and then laughed again.

Katie once again clapped her hands and spit milk bubbles out of her mouth.

"Thanks. I would not trust just anyone with my kids," he wiped the milk off of Katie's chin while she looked at him adoringly.

"I am glad," Allura smiled warmly. She paused. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you come across each of them? They were adopted, correct?"

Shiro dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I found Keith when he was only four years old. He had been abandoned by his parents and had been living in an alleyway for a couple of months. He was skin-and-bones - it was a heartbreaking sight. I desperately wanted to help him, and even though I had never considered adoption before, I felt really moved to. He was a tough case at first, and it took him a long while to open up to me, but I promised him that I would take care of him. I promised him I would love him. Now he's just a regular kid," Shiro smiled.

"Oh poor thing," Allura gasped. "He must be so grateful. You would think he was your biological son. You did you did some amazing work," she said, touched. "What about Lance?"

"Lance came about a year later. I had been thinking about adoption again, because I felt like Keith needed someone else to be there for him. I visited a run-down orphanage in Florida and was immediately met by a cute little guy with dark brown hair. Apparently, no one had wanted to adopt him. They did not believe me at first when I said I might want him. They laughed at me. However, Lance stuck to me like glue - he was really clingy, and despite being shy at first, his mouth was like a motorboat."

"He is very lively," Allura beamed. She had her chin resting on her hands, and looked deeply fascinated. "Do you know why he was there?"

"I think his family had too many siblings and gave him up," Shiro scratched his head. "They did not tell me the details."

"What about Hunk?" Allura asked. The boy in question, having heard his name, shook his head and looked at the two adults with big eyes. "Can you please tell the pizza man to hurry up?" he asked with a droopy lower lip. "They'll be here in a minute, gummy bear," Allura poked. "Gummy bear?" Hunk screwed up his face. "That's not my name."

Shiro talked to Allura more quietly as Hunk continued to stare at the chefs. "I adopted Hunk within the next month. He was at the same orphanage. Lance was talking about how he really missed his friend, and I figured one more kid couldn't hurt. And man am I glad he convinced me. I can't imagine Hunk in any other family. He is truly the sweetest five-year-old alive."

"But Katie's story is scary, and fairly recent. According to the orphanage, her house was a mess, and the parents were nowhere to be found. A neighbor heard her crying and called the police. When Katie was found alone in her crib, she was placed in the hands of an orphanage, but apparently refused to eat for days. They were worried they were going to lose her. I happened to be walking by the orphanage about six months ago when-"

The pizzas were delivered mid-sentence, causing Hunk to squeal with excitement.

Even more quietly, Shiro continued, "-when Katie was starting to cry through an open window. The boys heard her and demanded I go in and see. When I approached her crib, Katie stopped crying and looked at me. She started to speak and reached her small grubby hands towards me. Next thing I know, I have a baby girl."

"Is that her real name or one you gave her?" Allura asked, taking a mouthful of pizza. She covered her mouth delicately as she chewed.

"I think that's what they came up with," Shiro shrugged and leaned back. "But she likes it."

"No wonder she is so close to you," Allura commented.

"But she likes you too, and she is picky, aren't you Kaite?" Shiro made a face at her.

On que, Katie finished gulping her milk and started to hit her wooden high chair with the empty bottle. She grinned, seeing if anyone was watching.

At that exact moment a loud boom echoed from the arcade.

"What do you mean we need more coins?!" Lance shrieked.

Shiro sighed. "I swear I raised them better than this. Can you watch Hunk and Katie?"

Allura nodded and scooted next to Katie and started to play.

Shiro bolted into the arcade. "Lance, I can hear you from across the restaurant," he scolded, taking his son by the hand. "It's time to go eat."

"But Keith cheated," Lance complained as he was dragged back to the table. Keith trailed behind with an obvious smirk.


End file.
